The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-12-05
PROTECTION ARGUMENTS,
Tho Views Of Congressman Tom Reed on the
Tariff Outlook.

Tariff Outlook.
WASHINGTON, Dsc. -i.-Mr. Thomas B.
Rsed, OF Maine, has views about the prob.
ability Of reduction Of tho tariff by tho
Flfsieth Congress, and ho has to-day OK.
pressed them at length in tho form Of On
argument for the p.o:ectionist. He thinks
1t probable that the Democrats will dis..
arce, as they did in the last Congress-
But he also finds other difficulties. Hs
says: "The first man meet says, reduce
the sugar duty That looks very sim pie ;
but In 1888 that wes tried and the whole
Democratic party voted against it. Why =?
The excuse wes that i. wsa a revenue
duty. The reason was that Lou:e;sna wac
Democratic State. Thsre are also many
protec,ionists who would vote to retain
tha full sugar duty, from sincere belief,
j1atifisd by rtcsn. discoveries, that
Ts are on the verge OF producing from
sorg um and other sources all the sugar
our country can consume. You will re-.
member, too, tha. ths Administration in
more THAI one Treasury utterance, has de.
msudsd the retention OF the sugar duty.
The next scheme is to reducs protective
duties; but would that reduce the sur.
plusp What makes up q customs rev.
enua? The amount Of articles imported
multiplied by ths duty. II you reduce
the du:y you reduce tho multiplisr, which
| would be oil right il you did not increase
tho multiplicaud. But whom you reduce
tho duty you necesssrily increase the
amount imported. Iudesd, that must bs
your very object. Why reduc, duties II
you don't want mere foreign goods? But
We are not left to conjecture as to results.
A small example will make this plain. Bv
an Interpretation Of the law OF 1888
| uorssed goods duties have been reduced.
With what result? Why, tho revenue
has doublsd. II We do the same with
other articles we shall have mora surplus
rssher than less. What effect such
changes woull have on the business Of
the country just q. this moment l leave
business men to conjecture and to dread.
Another proposition is to take the re.
ducslon from the internal revenue. There
| Is very vide agreement as to the tobacco
tx, aud II the Speaker would allow a
proposition to take that 10000 600 off it
would easily pass. But he probably in.
tenda to use that as weapon to attack
protection under the guise OF reduction Of
surplua. The whole internal revenue tax
| ia about hundred millions. When you
como to the question OF reduction OF tho
revenue by taking Oft tho whisky tax, one
man thinks ths. 1t has the advantage OF
abolishing many ofiices, OF leaving the
trade Of the country undisturbsd, and
Aiss Willard, representing the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union, believes
that 1t will release the Government from
participation in the profits Of manu-.
iscture which no Government ought to
countenance. On tho other hand, that
tex Is defined as one easily collected, and
much talk Is made about leaving oil the
tax on liquor and putting 1t on clothes:
The manufacturers, also, Of whisky desire
tho tax continued ,becauseit enables those
Of large capital TO absorb the business
The expsdient of creating iree list with
coal, wool, salt, lumber, iron ore. and 0sh
thereon Is, Of course, only attacking pro.
lection In detail. You can See by this
slight enumeration what the difficulties
arc. II there was sincere single desire to
reduce the surplus, which is what the
country really wants, there would be but
little difficulty, bat 80 many msn want to
use reduction Of the surplus, which every
body agrees 10 lhysr to do something
which only FREQ trado minority wants to
do, that tho people Of this country are
liable to be deceived unless they keep
theis eyes on the main question, which ia
the reduction Of the surplus without dis
turbsnco of the industries Of the country"
| -.frf. ~. ,H'HrI' ri